


Thine own reflection in eternity

by Lordwhatfoolsthismortalsbe



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Episode: s04e12 Slaves of the Republic, F/M, Fix-It, I wrote all of this on my phone, M/M, Rating May Change, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, Tatooine Slave Culture, pairing is only hinted at for now, so if the formatting is out of whack I'm sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:14:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24643141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lordwhatfoolsthismortalsbe/pseuds/Lordwhatfoolsthismortalsbe
Summary: After rescuing Rex and Obi-Wan from Kadavo, Anakin cottons on to the fact that he and the clones have more in common than he thought.Aka: the one where a blast from the past (and the Force) knock some sense into Anakin and alter the course of the future.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker/CC-3636|Wolffe
Comments: 23
Kudos: 141





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> title inspired by the poem Aspiration by Adah Isaacs Menken.  
> This is my first attempt at a fanfic, so keep that in mind please.  
> Also if I'm gonna do this I'm doing it like I damn well want, which means nobody is dead. (except Krell)
> 
> Tatooine Slave Culture was inspired by Fialerill.  
> The idea for this fic was born by spending too much time on blackkats discord server. 
> 
> Betad by the amazing Eliyes who was way more patient with my non-native speaker ass than I deserve.  
> Shout out to Squigglylines who also offered to help but couldn't because of personal reasons. I hope things get better soon Squiggly!
> 
> Anakin/Wolffe is pre-relationship and is only hinted at so far. I don't know yet how I want to go about that. If I'm gonna go Amidala wolffe or just leave it at those two.

It all starts like this (that's a lie it starts when Jango Fett, who had only recently accepted a cushy job on Kamino, hands over his latest bounty to Jabba and wins a slave women in a game of Sabacc)

This is how it all comes out:

They were back in hyperspace, after the clusterfuck of a mission that was Zygerria. They had come for the Togrutan colonists but no one had even thought about leaving the other slaves behind, so General Koon’s Venator was packed full with not only the 104th but all of the freed slaves. Since the starship was operating at more than double it's intended capacity, sleeping spaces had to be improvised and crammed into every available space including the hangar and the cargo hold.

Obi-Wan was walking down the corridors of the bustling ship, his former padawan at his side.  
"I'm telling you, Master, you need to see a medic!" Anakin continued to argue to Obi-Wan's mounting frustration.  
"And I'm telling you that I'm perfectly fine, Padawan. It would be completely unnecessary to waste the medics time."  
Anakin let out an aggrieved sigh.  
"You're not fine, even I can see that. I swear I will tell Cody that you're not taking care of yourself, _again_. When our men catch up to us, I'm pretty sure Kix would be more than happy to tranq you for a thorough check up!"

They rounded a corner, and before Obi-Wan could reply, something stopped both of them in their tracks.  
A few paces away a clone was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, singing softly to a small child sitting in his lap.  
 _Oh dear, she must have been one of the slaves in that awful mine. But she's so young! If a trooper is taking care of her, her parents must be either dead or sold before her._  
The little one had obviously been crying but was slowly calming down at the song, sung in a strange lilting language Obi-Wan had never heard before. He'd thought the clone only spoke Mando'a and Basic, but this was very obviously neither. Only then did it register to Obi-Wan that Anakin next to him had frozen.  
Looking at his former padawan’s wide-eyed shock, he instinctively reached out across their old bond and felt the shock warring with disbelief and… _homesickness? Curious_.  
In that moment the singing falls silent.

"Uh, sorry General. Generals. I didn't see you there," the trooper said, scratching his head awkwardly.  
"It's quite alright, trooper. I'm afraid I do not know your name?"  
Anakin seemed to have regained enough of his senses to interrupt and blurt out a choked-of: "How do you know Amatakka?!"

The clone froze, looking up at him with wide eyes. The little girl in his lap, burrowed her face further into his shoulder, obviously spooked, at the words that had come out harsher than they had probably been meant to be.  
"That's, uh, kind of a long story. Not all of it meant for little ears, and I don't really know all of it either. You would be better off asking some of the older _vode_. They probably know more than me."

In that moment the ship wide com system crackled to life. "Generals Kenobi and Skywalker, Commander Tano and Captain Rex report to the bridge immediately. I repeat: Generals Kenobi and Skywalker, Commander Tano and Captain Rex report to the bridge immediately."  
"Sounds like the Council wants our report," Obi-Wan sighed. "I'm afraid your questions will have to wait Anakin."  
"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get this over with." His expression softened. "Take care of her trooper."  
"I will, Sir! Thank you, Sir!"  
________________________________

"Anyone feel like telling me why one of my Shinies came to me in a tizzy, babbling that he fucked up and you found out about something?" Wolffe growled out. "He wouldn't actually _tell_ me _what_ exactly you found out that has him so upset, so with all due respect, Generals, what the kriff is going on?"

Obi-Wan sighed. He really would have preferred to wait for his men to arrive to ask Cody some questions, but Anakin had been insistent they get answers now, which apparently meant dragging Obi-Wan to Wolffe's quarters, the second the debrief was over and demanding the full story the Shiny - _Whose named he still don't know, dammit Anakin!_ \- had hinted at.

"We overheard him singing an Amatakka lullaby to one of the little ones without parents," Anakin said. "He said to ask some older clones, so here we are."  
Wolffe lifted an eyebrow, looking entirely unimpressed at Anakins terseness, which had Obi-Wan stifling a smile.  
"I don't know what you're talking about."  
"Cut the _osik_ Commander, I know what I heard. How do you know Amatakka? I know that you know what I'm talking about, you're not even feigning surprise."

Wolffe sighed.  
"Alright, General, but first I have to ask how _you_ know it. I'm aware most _jetiise_ speak several languages, but I didn't think this was one of them."  
"It's not." Obi-Wan said, catching the attention of the two men who seemed surprised at the reminder that he was in the room.  
"I made a point of studying languages so that I might at least recognize any language I came across, and I can say with full confidence that I never even heard of this before today."

Anakin let out a tired sigh, carding his hand through his hair.  
"I know. And before this mission, I would have sought answers of my own. Outsiders aren't supposed to know, but I figured after what happened on Kadavo, you had the right to be included in this conversation."

With that, he turned to Wolffe again.  
"To answer your question, Commander, I know because it's what I grew up speaking with my mother. It's not common knowledge, but I came to the order very late, after Master Qui-Gon won me in a bet and freed me."

For the first time Wolffe seemed taken aback.  
"Well, that explains why the 501st always jokes about you not liking sand. Tatooine, huh?"  
"Yes, he grew up on that dreadful dustball. But could someone _please_ explain what is going on? What does Tatooine have to do with this? I thought the language spoken there was Huttese?"  
Wolffe and Anakin shared a look and seemed to come to some sort of conclusion.  
"It's slave culture," Wolffe answered.  
Anakin nodded in confirmation.  
"Most of the stories we tell are universal across the Galaxy, with minor regional differences. But the language tends to be more divers. It's still the same language, and every slave will understand it, but the different dialects are very distinct. And that trooper was definitely singing in the Tatooine dialect. Like the rest of the culture it's, well, secret. If the Masters don't know it exists, they cannot take it from us. It's not for outsiders to know, but you're part of my family. And given what you went through at the hands of the Zygerrians, I figured you deserved to know."

"Oh. I. I'm honored that you trust me with this Anakin. I -" _I didn't know you considered us family still. I know I wasn't always what I should have been and we've been drifting apart for so long…_

"So," Wolffe said, more softly than Obi-Wan had ever heard the gruff Commander, "You still want the story?"  
"Yes" Anakin burst out, tacking on a "Please" almost like an afterthought.  
 _Oh Anakin! You never did manage to grasp the concept of good manners. Oh well, the Commander seems more amused than anything, but I wonder why anyone ever allowed you to guard a Senator. If Padmé wasn't the most patient woman in the galaxy, you would have caused a diplomatic incident._

"Alright, so let me just say that I was very young, so don't know the whole story. Or the exact whys and hows. I just know that one day Jango came back from a bounty hunt with a woman. I _think_ she was just meant to be a nurse-maid for Boba. But she instantly took to all of us. After she came, they stopped culling the clones with minor defects. Rumor has it she made Jango put the pressure on the Kaminoans.  
She basically adopted every single one of the vode. The trainers had been teaching us Mandalorian culture as well as fighting but most of them weren't exactly… kind. She offered us a kindness we had never experienced. There isn't a trooper who wouldn't die for her."

Wolffe scoffs. "Some of the trainers didn't like it. Thought it would make us soft. One of them attempted to pressure her into stopping. Said we were made to fight and nothing else. Until that moment, nobody thought she even had a temper, but _holy kriff_ did they learn."  
A fond smile steals across Wolffe's face.

"I'll never forget it. She made quite the sight: A small civilian women staring down Kal Skirata, calling him out on his bullshit. Calling him on his hypocrisy. Bastard always played favorites."

"After that, after the reminder that we were literally bred and engineered to be someone else's perfect soldiers, she started teaching us about _her_ culture. Now all the younger clones learn to speak Amatakka as soon as they're old enough to understand that they can't do it in front of the trainers or the longnecks. It's a part of us, of our culture, just as much as being Mandalorian is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This not meant to be a criticism of Obi Wan. Maybe a traumatised 20 year old wasn't the best choice to raise a traumatised 9 year old but he did his best! He just has a very low opinion of himself.  
> There will be no character bashing here.


	2. Chapter 2

Despite his best intentions a smile started to spread on Anakin's face. _You are not alone! You are not alone! You are not alone!_ A small part of his mind that he had thought silenced for years rejoiced. The joy was quickly drowned out, when with a wash of shame he realized that he had not thought about his culture, the culture of _his people_ , in years now. Had not even attempted to keep it alive. _It's_ meant _to be practiced in secret. You could have kept at it but you didn't want to, did you? You didn't want to be reminded of your shameful past. Didn't want to be reminded of the pathetic little slave boy who didn't have the power-_

But the strangely oily, insidious little voice was silenced by the howling of a sandstorm.  
 _No._

The voice that spoke was ancient and yet ageless. It seemed to come from everywhere around. It was the storm, and yet it was more than that.  
 _My child has found back to us and to himself. You will not take him from our side again! Remember who you are, Anakin Skywalker! You are not alone. There are many who love you. More than even you know. Do not listen to the voice of depur! He only seeks to isolate you to more easily control you! You are my child and my children are never truly alone._

And here, standing in the middle of a sandstorm unharmed while a vile, oily blackness - _where did that come from? It's right in front of me. Why am I only seeing it now?-_ was ground into nothingness Anakin understood.

_Ar-Amu?!_

_Yes, my child?_

_We are far from Tatooine, Ar-Amu. How are you here?_

_Oh child. I am Ar-Amu. I am the mother of all. I am everywhere my children can be found. I am everything that surrounds you. I am life as I am death. No one is ever truly gone. I live in everything and in the end every living thing returns to me._

_The Jedi say that there is no death, there is the Force._

He could feel the amusement all around him at that.

_Well, they are not wrong. I am called many things, my child. I am the power that flows through you as I am the warm sunlight that makes a flower bloom. I am everything, at every time, in a way your mortal mind cannot comprehend. But yes, to the Jedi I am the Force. And you, my child, hear me clearer than most, now that you have remembered how to listen._

_But how? The masters say that to be attached is to fall to the Dark Side of the Force. But I can feel your love. And how can there be a Dark Side to this?_

_Oh child. Depur has whispered in your ear for too long. You misunderstand. Love was never the problem. Even the Jedi, clouded as their sight has become with depur’s manipulations, do not disavow love. But depur has whispered in your ear. Has twisted the meaning of their words in your mind and encouraged you to love selfishly. So you would try to possess that which you love. And you know in your heart, my child, that you can never possess another being. Not even through love._   
_Speak to your master, my child, and I am sure you will see. Now wake up!_

What? Wake-?

"Anakin! Anakin, wake up!" As if through many layers of cotton Anakin could hear Obi-Wan calling out for him. The desperation in his master's voice surprised him, though he wasn't quite sure why. Of course his master loved him. They were family!  
He almost expected the little voice to speak up- He came up short. _Why_ was he expecting the voice in his mind to contradict him? _Because it always had. Because whenever he had thought about them as family, that insidious little voice in the back of his head had spoken up to sow doubt. To remind him that Obi-Wan was the perfect Jedi and Jedi did not love._  
Obi-Wan! Obi-Wan had been calling for him!

As Anakin fought to regain consciousness, he became aware of his surroundings. He was lying on a cot, his head cushioned on something warm and- Thighs. His head was laying in someone's lap.  
He opened his eyes and had to blink at the brightness.

"I'm here, Obi-Wan," he croaked, his voice not yet fully responding to his commands.  
"I'm alright, Master. I'm alright."

Obi-Wan's face swam into view.  
"Thank the Force! You just collapsed, Anakin! One second Wollfe was talking and the next you collapsed and started thrashing!"  
 _Wolffe. Right. They had been in Wolffe's quarters._  
Anakin took in his surroundings. They apparently still were. But Obi-Wan was kneeling on the floor next to the cot he was lying on, which meant-

"You gave us quite the scare, General," Wolffe quipped from where he was sitting.  
Force! He had been resting with his head in _Wolffes_ lap.  
Anakin could feel his face heating up.

"Commander! Ah, yes very sorry for the inconvenience." His tongue stumbled over the words in his rush to get them out. He tried to sit up, only for a wave of dizziness to hit him like a stun grenade, sinking right back down.  
 _Right back into Wolffes lap! Oh kriff!_

"Whoa, take it easy, General!" Wolffe said. "I don't want to be the unlucky son-of-a-hutt that has to explain to Kix that we broke his General!" And though his words sounded like a reprimand, his voice was tinged with equal parts worry and amusement.

"What happened, Anakin?" Obi-Wan just sounded concerned.  
How could he ever have thought his master didn't care? He basically wore his heart on his sleeve!  
"I told you I'm alright master. I- I think I had some kind of strange vision? I'll explain when I can make sense of it. I promise."  
His master seemed almost surprised at his answer. Relieved, but surprised.  
 _He expects you to lash out, child._ The voice of Ar-Amu whispered to him. _The whispering of depur in your mind hurt more than just yourself._  
"Master can we talk? I- I think we need to meditate together."  
At that Obi-Wan’s eyebrows shot up. Then he grinned.  
"Who are you and what have you done with my padawan?"  
Oh kriff, he had almost forgotten how Obi-Wan's smiles lit up a room. He had really kriffed up if he couldn't recall the last time his master had smiled like that.  
Slowly this time, Anakin sat up again.  
"Thank you for sharing that with us Commander. It- means a lot to me. To know that the _vode_ can share in my culture of as I have been allowed to share yours. But I'm afraid we must go now."  
The grizzled Commander smiled at that.  
"It's good to know that you will be with us, General. Rex basically already claimed you as _aliit_. But this? This will mean everything to the _vode_."  
Anakin nodded soberly at that, only to sputter again when Wolffe added, with a smirk as dry as the Tatooine desert at double noon, "And if you like my bed so much you are welcome to it anytime."

He stood and with a nod to Obi-Wan said, "General. I do believe General Koon will be looking for me by now" and left. Leaving a sputtering Anakin behind without another word.

____________________________

The door had just closed behind Wolffe when he heard General Kenobi erupt into hysterical laughter at the dumbfounded expression of his former apprentice. With a broad smirk across his face, he strode off to find General Koon, scaring the living daylight out of every Shiny he came across.  
Skywalker makes it almost too easy. He thought. But kriff if he didn't mean every word he said.  
Learning that a Jedi General, especially one as well liked with the troops as Skywalker, not only understood in a way outsiders, no matter how well meaning, never truly could, but that he was one of them… This could change everything.  
And kriff it all. Carrying the young Jedi to his bed had brought him a whole new appreciation of Rex's General.

_Rex'ika is gonna kill me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the whole part with the vision is kinda whacky. I don't know what I did there either. Anakin was just supposed to come to some realizations. Apparently my subconscious/the characters/whatever, decided that he was so thick the Force itself needed to hit him with a clue bat.

**Author's Note:**

> This not meant to be a criticism of Obi Wan. Maybe a traumatised 20 year old wasn't the best choice to raise a traumatised 9 year old but he did his best! He just has a very low opinion of himself.  
> There will be no character bashing here.


End file.
